Slide mechanism



` Sept. 16, 1930. v R, MQLINARI ET AL 1,775,824

SLIDE usalmlsu Filed Apri; 7, 1928 2 Shoots-Sheet 1 Sept. 16, 1930. R. MQLINAR: ET AL 1,775,824

SLIDE lllracxmzzsu Filed April 7. 1928- 2 Shoots-Shut 2 UNITED STATES PATENT` OFFICE RALPH MOLINARI .AND JOI-IN BALDI, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS TO SEMINOLE FURNITURE SHOPS, INC., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS SLIDE MECHANISM Application filed April 7, 1928. Serial No. 268,165.

Our invention relates, generally, to extensible tables and more particularly to furniture of this class in which the extension leaves are normally carried by the table and may be pulled out or extended to a position at the end of the table, thereby to form a vcontinuous top of greater area.

We have provided an extensible table top construction which overcomes the main dis- :advantages in tops of this type wherein the normal top is raised to permit the withdrawal of the extensions. In this latter type of extensible table, the operation of withdrawing and turning the extension leaf is very diiiicult since the operator must lean over the table to raise the central portion of the top both in withdrawing the extension leaf and in returning it to concealed position. Women, especially, therefore have great difiir culty in extending the table and returning it to normal closed position. Furthermore, in this type of table the extension leaf is liable to become scarred and scratched as it is being withdrawn from its closed position and returned thereto. Occasionally, while raising the central portion of the top, it slips from the fingers and is liable to injure the hands of the operator.

The extensible top construction of our invention overcomes all of the above disadvantages and has a great many advantages not present in the extensible tables of the prior art.

More particularly, it is the object of our 5 invention to provide an extension table in which the extension leaves may be easily and quickly withdrawn from beneath the table top and firmly held in extended position.

A further object of our invention is to provide an extensible table in which the extension leaves are guided so as to be movable outwardly, upwardly and then inwardly into position, forming an extension of the table to 1A further object is to provide an extensible table in which the top may be'rigidly secured to the table legs or pedestal.

A further object is to provide an extensible table having means for guiding the extension leaves from closed to extended position 5G. without danger of scarring the surface of the extension leaf.

Another object is the provision of an extensible table top in which the extensible section is adapted to be automatically moved out from under the table top and automatically leveled therewith, and located immediately adjacent the table top so as to form an extension thereof.

Other objects will appear from the fol- (m lowing description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig'. 1 is a plan view of our improved table, the major portion of the fixed top being broken away more clearly to show the op- 6;, erative mechanism of the extension leaves;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the table taken on the line 2*-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the exten- .-u sion leaves in normal or closed position;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a guiding lug; and

kFigs. 5 to 10 are detailed views of the means for guiding the extension leaves, rep` 73 resenting the parts thereof in the different positions assumed at various stages of operation.

As best shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the table of our invention comprises legs 10 which are s# preferably of the extended pedestal type, the two legs being braced by a cross piece 11. The legs support a frame having sides 12 and ends 13. The ends of a cross member 14 are rigidly secured to the mid-portions of sa extension leaves 24, the latter being, prefer- Y ably of the same width as the stationary top 17. The extensions have suitable recesses 18 which are adapted to receive the ngjers while the extension leaf is being moved to extended-position. f

The ends of runners 22 are offset at 25 for engagement beneath thecross member 14, as shown 1n F 1g. 2. A. lug plate 26 1s secured 1na recess in the lower surface of each of the runners 22, f preferably by screws passing through countersunk holes 27, so that lthe plates lie flush with the bearing surfaces of the runners. Thel plates 26 are rectangular "in shape and have inwardly extending lugs 28 for engagement with the operating mechanism 20.

The extension leaves24 are slidable from their normaly position between the stationary top 17 and the frame 12, 13, asshown in Fig.VV

3, to extended positions in which they abut the ends of the stationary top 17 and are flush with the surface thereof as lshown in Figs. 1 and 2. We have provided novel mechanism for automatically raising and guiding the extension leaves from their normal to yextended position and back to normal position.

. Thisl raising and guiding mechanism,

which is best shown in Figs. 5 to 10, incluy sive, comprises pairs of metal plates30 which are secured to the outerv sides of blocks 19 by screws :passing through countersunk holes 32 in the plates. Each of theplates 30 has an outwardly bent end flange 34, the lower porl ltion 36 of which slopes towardthe center of the table.

A khardened metal abutment block y38 is fixed against the flange 34. A trip lever 40, a dog 42, anda vcounterweight lever 44 are mounted for pivotal movementupon the plate 30 by rivets 46, 48 and 50, respectively. Each of the elements 40, 42 and 44, it will be noted, is pivoted eccentrically of its center of gravity and the pivotal mounting is sufliciently frictionless so that the elements will readily swing on their pivots due to the force of gravity alone.

y'The trip lever 40 has a notch 52 near its outer end, this notch being adaptedv to receive the point 54 of dog 42. A pin 56, fixed to the plate l .30, limits counterclockwise pivotal movement of the trip lever 40 and a similar` pin 58 serveskpas a limit stop for counterclockwise pivotal movement of the dog 42.

VElhe counterweight lever 44 has a toe 60 invase/i which, as shown ink Fig. 5, normally lies beneath and in contact with the heel portion 62 of the tripV lever 40.

ln Figs. 5 to 10 we have illustrated the po-..

sitions ofthe operative parts of the guiding and raising mechanism at dierent stages of `the operation of moving an extension leafto extended position and returning it to normal position. These operations will now be described in detail.

neach ofthese figures, the lug 28 is shown insection.- lt will be understood that this luglslides` substantially in contact with the inner surface of the plate 30 and, since it is rigidly secured to'y the "extension leaf, the`- movement v'of the lug maybe considered to be Vthe movement of the extension leaf.

Referring to Fig. y5, the lug 28 is shown." as having. moved-past the lever 44 through a rectilinearpath a When the lug reaches the position approximately as shown in Fig.

5, the inner edge ofthe extension leaf 24 will lie .beneath the 'outer edge lof the-stationary top 17 `Continued. outward movementof the rleaf will `cause the, lug 28-tocontact with and slide upwardly upon'the uppersurface of dog 42 through a path by until the lug reachesy a position in which the weight of the'extension leaf exerted through the lugv will pivot the dog 42 clockwise and permit passage of the lug between the end of` the trip lever 40 and the point 54 of the dog. l/Vhen this occurs, the end of the dog 42 opposite the point 54 contacts with they left-hand portion of the trip-lever 40 and swings the latter clockwise to the position vshown in Fig.

6-if 'the lever 40 has not already moved to this,

position under the influence of gravity. The Y lever 40 thus acts as a stop to limit the clockwise pivotalmovement of thedog v42 so that the lug 28 abuts against the block 38 and rests upon the po,int--54.

Having reached thelimit of outward movement of the extension 24,- the operator will push inwardly and thereby-move the lug 28 v through a path c tothe position shown in Fig. 7.

The inward movement of thefe'xtension leaf is continued sothat the lug 428 willmove from the position showninsection in Fig.s7to the position shown inL dottedlines in said figure.V When the lug is in thedotted line position,

ythe extension leaf is substantially in fully extended'position, as show-nin Fig. 2and.

due to its weight, drops slightly, thereby moving the trip lever 40 counterclockwise until its heelportion is stopped by the pin 56. ll/Vhen in this position, the surface of the extension leaf 24 is brought flush with the surface of the stationary top 17. It will be noted that counterclockwise movement of the trip lever l40 will cause clockwise pivotal movement of the counterweight 44.

v Ars the trip lever 40 is piv-oted counterclockwise, the dog 42 willV pivot counterclockwise,

due to the force of gravity, until it is arrested by stop pin 58 and its point 54 will latch in Y sired to restore the extension leaf 24 to normal position.

This restoring movement is commenced by drawing the leaf 24 away from the stationary top 17 a short distance so that the lug 28 will travel through a path represented as d in Fig. 8. The lug slides over the trip lever 40 and drops downwardly between the trip lever and the block 38 until it contacts with the sloping portion 36 of the flange 34 by which it is deflected so that the subsequently necessary movement of the top 24 towards the fixed top 17 is initiated.

At the end of path d, the lug 28 engages the lower surface of dog 42 and pivots the latter clockwise a sufficient distance to permit the lug to pass beneath the dog in a rectilinear path e, as shown in Fig. 9. It should be noted that the lug 2S is guided in the paths e and f by the engagement of the runners 22 with the bearing surfaces 23.

During the period of the movement of the lug through the path e, the point 54 of the dog is temporarily released from its latching enga-gementwith the trip lever 40. rlhe parts remain in the. position shown in Fig. 9 during substantially the time while the lug is traveling through the path f, shown in Fig. 10, due to the fact that the counter- 'weight lever 44 tends to move the trip lever 40 clockwise and hence prevents the point 54 of the dog from camming the right-hand end of the trip lever-upwardly.

J ust prior to the t-ime when the lug reaches the position shown in Fig. 10, it contacts with the lower surface of the counterweight lever 44 and swings the latter clockwise to the position shown in Fig. 10, at which time its toe portion 60 is freed from contact with the heel portion 62 of the trip lever 40 so that the latter is free to be cammed counterclockwise by the dog 42 which acts under the influence of gravity.

While the lug is moving through the path f, the extension leaf 24 starts sliding beneath the stationary top 17 and this inward movement of the extension 24 is continued until the ends of its runners 22 contact with the opposite frame end 13 and the extension leaf itself abuts against the stop boards 15.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 2, it will be seen that when the extension leaf is in extended position its offset portion 25 will lie beneath the cross member 14 and the leaf will thus be supported by these offset portions of its runners andthe two lugs 23 which rest upon the trip levers 40. There is sufficient clearance between the top surface of the extension leaves 24 and the under surface of the stationary top 17 so that there will be no danger of marring or scratching the finished top surface of the extension leaves as they are being operated. In the voperation of extending the table,

it is merely necesary to touch the extension.

itself and the extending operation may be made to slide sufficiently easy that it is practically effortless and the table may be eX- tended by a child. The mechanism controlling the path of movement of the extension leaf is entirely automatic and is so constituted that the operator need merely pull upon the extension leaf until stopped by engagement of the lugs 28 with the abutment blocks 38. At this time the extension leaf will have been raised substantially to the level of the stationary top 17 and the operator need merely push slightly on the extension leaf to move it to home position in abutment with the edge of the stationary top. If desired, the end edge of the stationary top may he made convex and the abutting edge of the extension leaf concave so that the stationary top will aid slightly in maintaining the extension leaf in flush prolongation with the top 17.

Since the operator needmerely grasp the outer edge of the extension, there is no danger of pinching or otherwise injuring the operators fingers when the extension leaf is moved to extended position. The slope of the top surfaces of the dogs 42 is atsuch an angle that the raising of the extension leaf gradual and does not require the exertion of a great force. Furthermore, the engagement of the lugs with the top surfaces of the dogs 42, when moving the extension leaf toward extended position, serves as a signal to the operator that the leaf has moved substantially to its outermost position and thus tends to prevent the use of excessive force which might burr or` shear ofiI the lugs by excessive forcefulimpact with the abutment blocks 38.

Vhilewe have shown and described a particular embodiment of our invention in detail, we do not wish our invention to be limited to the particular construction disclosed but desire the scope of our invention to be defined by the claims which follow.

l/Ve claim:

1. In an extension top table, guiding mechanism comprising a plate having' an abutment, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends on said plate, a dog engaging said lever, and a pin adapted to slide on and be guided by said lever. dog` and abutment.

2. In an extension top table7 guiding mechanism comprising a supporting plate, a lever carried by said plate and having a notch at one end thereof, a dog on said plate having a tooth engageable with said notch, and lug adapted to ride over said lever and dog.

2. In an extension top table, guiding mechanism comprising a plate having an abutment, a lever pivoted intermediate its hold said lever in engagement with said dog,

movable top Section and said frame for guid- I ing the movements of said movable top 'sectionand lifting the same lto extended position level withk said top, said mechanismcompris-VV ing .a lugcarried by one part and a switch member carried by another part to guidefsaid lug inv one* path or another dependent on` ,thev movementV of said vmovable .top section. ,Y .Y In witness whereof,we hereunto subscribe Y our names this thday of April,192`8.

f yRALPH MOLINARI.

JOHN BALDL.

and a lug adapted to beguidedby said mech-4 i c anism. n Y

Inl an extension top blade, guide mecha vnism comprising 'a plate having' an abutment, alever pivoted :intermediate its ends on said plate andfhaving a latching portion, a dog 2g pivoted vintermediate'itsy ends on said plate, i said dogbeing adapted to engage said latch# ing portion, and a lug adapted tor-ide over said dog and"v release' said latching portiony j from engagement with said dog. l f

6. In an extension top table, extension leaf guide mechanism comprising a plate having an abutment, va lever pivoted intermediate its ends on said plate'and having a latch, a dog pivoted intermediate its ends onvsaid platevr aoA and engageablewith said latchlever, and an extension leaf supporting lug adapted to pass l 1 over said dog and upon said lever when the leaf is moved to extended positionianddownwardly between said dog and saidabutment 135i and thence beneath said dog when they leaf is returned to normal'position. s v

il In an extension top table, extension leaf guide mechanism comprisingl a plate secured tosaidtable,said plate having an abutment 40; at one end thereof, aflever pivoted on said plate and having a latch adjacent one end, a

stop for said lever, an extension leaf support-f ing lug adapted to move in an operating cycle, a dog engageable withsaid lever-and adapt*-l abutment and an end'of said dog in one posi tion and to permit saidpassage when in an# other position. Y y

8. In anextensible table, the combination of a supporting framev with a top carried by said frame, a movable topsection adapted to be supported below said top orV as an'eXtension of said top, and a mechanism connecting said movable top section andsaid frame for guiding the movements of said movable top sec.-

455 ed to prevent passagel of said Vlug between said" f tion'and lifting the same to extendedposition i level with said top, said mechanism including v a sliding lug carried byone part and a movf able member carried by another part for slid- A ing' engagement with said lug. f

9. In an eXtensible table, the combinatio ofl a supporting frame with a top carried by said frame, rainovable top section adapted to be' supported below said top or'as an extension 55 of said top, and a mechanism connecting said ioo) y rizo 

